


Important Impossibility

by vlaplomb



Category: Purple Hyacinth (Webcomic)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, My First Fanfic, No Plot/Plotless
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:55:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24460168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vlaplomb/pseuds/vlaplomb
Summary: Kym gets nosy, Kieran tells some stupid lies, and Lauren eavesdrops.  A random Lauki fic that takes place a couple weeks after episode 49.
Relationships: Lauren Sinclair/Kieran White
Comments: 14
Kudos: 107





	Important Impossibility

**Author's Note:**

> Lies are in bold ;)

The short-lived winter sun had long disappeared behind the rooftops of Ardhalis, leaving the outside world dark, save for the warm glow of the street lamps. Not a person could be seen in the streets, despite the growing tendency of late-night Phantom Scythe activity in recent months. Every sane person had gone home to sleep.

However, Kieran White and Kym Ladell were not sane. Unfortunately for them, neither was Lauren Sinclair.

“So, Mr. White,” Kym said, plopping down on a chair near his desk. “Why haven’t you gone home yet? It’s getting pretty late.” Lauren peered at her conversing colleagues over the file organizer sitting atop her desk. Did they know she was still here? She breathed as quietly as possible. Her loud heartbeat threatened to wake the dead - but Lukas had left already, so there weren’t any dead to be awakened.

“Oh, I guess it is!” he replied, glancing at his watch. “I’ll wrap this up, but I ought to get going soon.” Lauren bit the inside of her cheek at his newfound proper facade. If only they knew what an egocentric, abominable monster he truly-

“You weren’t perhaps...waiting for a certain someone, were you?”

“ **No,** ” Kieran said, “I was just finishing up some paperwork. **That’s all.** ” Lauren gulped. Had he been waiting for her?

What more could he possibly have to say to her?

“Oh,” Kym said disappointedly. “I just thought maybe… well, nevermind.”

“No, what is it?”

“Well, I’ve seen you talking to Lauren after work, and I was wondering if you were interested?” Kym wrung her hands sheepishly. As she should, Lauren thought.

“Oh, I see. We were just discussing business.” Barricading a sigh of relief, Lauren ducked further behind her files. Little did Kym know that Kieran and Lauren’s conversations after work had mostly consisted of Kieran attempting to apologize for the incident at the cave. As much as Kym might wish for it, romance between Lauren and Kieran was impossible. Even if Kieran apologized a thousand times, and Lauren tried her hardest to forgive him, they couldn’t change what had transpired.

Kieran had almost choked Lauren to death, and he most certainly despised her.

“You know, Lauren has dated a number of men with no success,” Kym said.

“I didn’t know that, actually.”

“I would love for her to be happy.” Kym toyed with some pencils on his desk. “Ever since you joined the precinct, I thought you might be able to provide that for her.”

“Sorry Ladell, but I’m afraid I could not.” Lauren nodded, the side of her face pressed to her desk. Seeing Kieran at work daily made her anything but happy - in fact, if it weren’t for being surrounded by her extremely well-trained colleagues, she would be very afraid.

She had every right to be. Her finger traced the fading bruise encircling her neck like some sick necklace, covered in concealer. Almost two weeks, and it still prevailed.

“Really? Your personalities complement each other.” The grin in Kym’s voice was unmistakable, and Lauren mentally face-palmed. “I would be overjoyed to put in a good word for-”

“I wouldn’t.” Kieran shuffled a few papers, restacking them on the corner of his desk. “ **I have no interest in dating Officer Sinclair.** ”

What? Lauren’s heartbeat tripped. A lock of crimson hair fell before her eyes, stumped. Kieran, who called her a hypocrite, who choked her, who had complete disregard for her life...said what?

“That’s a shame. And I thought I was pretty good at detecting office romance!” Kym said, a whine hinting at her voice.

“If you were in any way skilled at distinguishing office relationships,” Kieran started, “then you and the lieutenant would have already stopped arguing and started going to dinner.” Lauren clapped a hand over her mouth, resisting the urge to chuckle at Kym sputtering and fumbling with Kieran’s office supplies. “And, it would be very clear to you that **I don’t care about Lauren as anything more than a colleague.** ” 

Lauren clenched her fist, confused. How was that a lie, but Kieran’s statement about not caring if she died wasn’t? Her ability had never failed her, but maybe it was then.

Gripping the edge of her desk, Lauren stood silently, watching Kym and Kieran in the corner of her eye. With air beneath her steps, she began to creep stealthily across the room, advancing on the door. Perhaps her experiences sneaking around as half of Lune would prove to be good for something after all.

“First name basis, I see,” Kym noted. “But oh well, I should let you go. I suppose I shouldn’t be meddling in- Lauren?”

Shoot. Kym was always quite perceptive. Lauren froze, not turning around.

“How long have you been there?” Kieran asked, voice cracking.

Lauren drew in a sharp breath, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Long enough,” she said. She pivoted, sauntering towards the desk with feigned confidence in her feet. His cerulean eyes were wide, eyebrows leaping skyward in - was it regret? Fear? Lauren simpered, relishing in his obvious discomfort.

“Well, I’m going to head out,” Kym said hastily, clapping Lauren on the shoulder. “It would appear that Mr. White has a lot of explaining to do.” She grimaced at the both of them.

The explanation that Kieran was tasked with was entirely different from what Kym envisioned - but all that her impromptu late-night interrogation had shown Lauren was that Kym was better off not knowing the truth.

Her footsteps echoed down the hallway, leaving La Lune sitting in the office by themselves. Only Kieran’s lamp illuminated the room, leaving them mainly in the shadows. Lauren washed over the office with her gaze, trying to calm her thudding pulse and grating nerves. Finally, she regarded Kieran with a casual, ironic smile.

“Please tell me Davenport isn’t going to come jump me like she did with Harvey.”

Kieran sighed, removing his glasses in a swift motion. “No, she’s not.”

She peered at him, startled to see his old self once again rather than the meek archivist. Her foot twitched in the direction of the door. “Are you?”

“Look, Lauren, I didn’t know you were still here-”

“Obviously. So let’s cut to the chase.” She ran her thumb along the edge of the stack of paperwork on the desk, feeling the edges of the paper prick her. “What were those lies?”

“ **I can explain**.” Then he placed his head in his hands. “Oi, what’s the use?"

She wasn’t used to this. Sitting before her was not Ardhalis’s quiet archivist, nor its most fearsome assassin.

Once again, she could feel the presence of Kieran: the man who had stitched up her wounds, lent her his shirt, paid for her taxi the morning after-

No. That was practically a lifetime ago.

“You said that you could kill me and not shed a tear. That wasn’t a lie. But you say that you don’t care about me, and it is?"

“I’m really sorry for that.” He examined his hands, his expression unreadable. “I could kill you. You know that.”

“I do.”

“But...I’ve really never considered myself to be a crier.”

Lauren lifted her head, looking at him. His eyes were fixed on the desktop. “I see.” Realization panged in her head. Kieran knew how her lie-detecting ability worked - as well as how to manipulate it.

“I regret what I said to you. And did to you. It might be one of my biggest regrets yet.”

“But you’ve killed so many people-”

“I was ordered to kill them.” Finally, his eyes met hers. “But no one ordered me to go after you. It was me. I’m so very sorry, Lauren.” For a second, his eyes flitted to her throat, before shooting back to the desktop. Gone were the flashy turquoise jewels that sparkled intensely when he laughed, replaced with some slate blue imposter.

Lauren could practically feel the regret emanating from him. “You mean it.”

“I do.”

“That wasn’t a question.” She relaxed, brushing her fingers against his shoulder. He tensed under her touch. “I forgive you."

She had thought that he hated her. To be fair, though, she hadn’t directly asked. She had relied on her ability - and that ability could only rule out the lies, not tell her the truth.

“So, you would date me?” she asked with a grin.

“ **No, the thought never crossed my mind**.” Kieran hid his mouth behind his hand too late - Lauren had already seen him biting back a small smile. “Has it crossed yours?"

“It hadn’t before.”

“Well, you know it would never work, officer.”

“We’ll see, subordinate. We’ll see.” She thought back to every sparse time she had considered the possibility of Dylan still being alive. “I’ve been known to believe in the impossible - but only if it’s important enough to me.”

**Author's Note:**

> lol what was I thinking  
> this is one of those times when you know you'll never get it in the actual story so you just write it for yourself, ya feel


End file.
